Magneto



April 10, 1934. .1. F. MARTIN MAGNETO Filed Jan. 3, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT Jab/7 A arr/)7 v ATTORNEY J. F. M

MAGNETO 4 Sheets- 2 Filed Jan. 3, 1933 ATTORNEY April 10, 1934. J F, -rm I 1,954,087

MAGNETO Filed Jan. 3?, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR A IPA/M790 ATTO R N EY A ril 10, 1934.. J. F. MARTIN 1,954,087

MAGNETO I Filed Jan. 3, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 w ll; Hm HUT- 1 ium,

@i I! Q Q 1 v Q 1., i l I1 IHH" HIHIII. 'lln II- I VEN OR J20 6/79 7 ATTO R N EY Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAGNETO Application..lanuary 3, 1933, Serial No. 649,860

. f 19 Claims. (01. 123'-149) My invention relates to improvements in magnetos and especially magnetos for producing current to be used in the ignition systems of internal combustion engines.

An object of the invention is to provide a magneto having a stationary generating coil and a movable magnet, and compact in design, with high and low tension windings and controlling parts that are few'in number and capable of being readily dismounted to give access to the interior of the magneto for inspection and repair and to facilitate the assembling and completing of the magneto in the process of manufacturing same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a magneto that is relatively inexpensive to make, comparatiyely small in size, yet capable of a large output and high efficiency in operation.

Other objects and advantages are set forth in the ensuing specification which, when taken with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of my invention. The description, however, is illustrative only and I may make changes in various ways Without departing from the principle of the invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a magneto according to this invention;-

Fig. 2 is a rear view with .the end cover removed;

Fig. 3 is an inside view of the end cover which incorporates the stator member of the distributor through which current is conducted to the igniters of aninternal combustion engine in succes- .sion;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through said cover;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan of a supporting element for the high tension conductor which connects the generating coil to the distributor;

3 Fig. '7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. i; Fig. 9 is an end view of the housing of the magneto;

Fig. 10 is a sideview of said housing;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section through said housing;

Fig. 12 is a front view of a bracket or support ing plate disposed in said housing for carrying bearings for the shafts of said magneto;

Fig. 13 is a front view of the rotor of the distributor;

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the circuit interrupter for the low tension coil of the magneto; the movable contact being omitted.

Fig. 15 is a front view of the rotor which carries the movable magnets of the magneto;

Figs. 16 and 17 are endand front views respec tively of the coil and polepieces' of the magneto; and

Fig. 18 is a side view of one of said polepieces.

On the drawings the same numerals identify the same parts throughout.

The housing of the magneto is indicated at 1 and the rotor thereof comprising a number of revolvable bar magnets is indicated at 2. The rotor is disposed in the lower part of the housing 1 and above it are the generating coils 3; the rotor and the coils being situated adjacent one end of the housing which is closed as shown at 4. The opposite end of the housing is open but is closed by a cover 5 of suitable insulating material; and between the closed end 4 and the cover 5 is a transversely extending bracket or supporting member 6 which extends from the bottom of the housing upward almost to the top thereof. The numeral 7 indicates the main shaft which carries the rotor 2. This shaft is supported in anti-friction bearings which are placed in s' iitable recesses in the member 6 and end 4 of the housing 1, and both the end- 4 and member 6 have apertures through which the ends of the shaft 7 project. The extremity of the shaft 7 which extendsout through the end 4 of the housing is connected to a drive shaft; while the opposite end of this shaft, extending through the member 6 towards the cover 5, actuates the circuit interrupter and a distributor; the former being connected to a primary or low tension winding in the coil 3 and the latter to a high tension or secondary winding in said coil; so that current of the required voltage can be obtained. 1

The member 6 rests upon the bottom of the housing 1 engaging a seat 8 adjacent the shoulder 9 which marks the proper position for this member. As shown, it is formed as a separate piece. At its upper end 10 it is suitably recessed to receive the race members of another ball bearing for the rotor 11 of the distributor. This rotor is of insulation and has a projecting stem 12 which fits into a tubular shaft 13 received in the anti-friction bearing at the upper end 10 of said member 6. This tubular shaft carries thereon the distributor gear 14 which meshes with a driving pinion 15 on the shaft '7, and between this pinion l5 and the member 6 the shaft 7 carries a cam 16 affixed thereon. The gear 14 is secured to one end of the tubular shaft 13 by making a counter-boredlhole at the center of the gear 14 to receive the adjacent end of the shaft 13. In-

the counter-bored end 14a of said hole is a flat ring 17 provided with an inward extending tongue or key 18 and forming a keyed washer which engages the key-way 12a of the stem 12 so that the rotor 11 and the washer 17 must rotate together. The shaft 13 has an external collar 13a forming an outside shoulder against which the gear 14 abuts, and pins or rivets 19 in suitable openings or recesses in the ring 17, gear 14 and collar 13a afiix the shaft 13, gear 14 and ring 1'7 to one another. Hence when the gear 14 is turned by the pinion 15, the hollow shaft 13 and rotor 11 revolve with the distributor gear, to close the high tension circuits in the required order.

and flanked by said end plates are polepieces 21 between which and connecting same are straight bar magnets 22. These magnets cooperate with soft iron polepieces 23 at each side of the housing 1. The polepieces '23 are laminated and are Dlaced between cover plates or strips 24 at each side and of somewhat greater length; the cover strips extending beyond the upper ends of the polepieces as shown in Fig. 18. The coils 3 comprising the primary and secondary windings are within tubes of suitable insulating material shown at 25 and 26; the primary being within the tube 25 and encircling the core 27; while the secondary winding is within the space between these tubes. The core 27 projects beyond the ends of the coil 3 and fits between the strips 24 of the polepieces 23. Inside of the housing 1 and extending from the closed end 4 are projections 28 at each side and near the top of the housing; while lower down are similar projections, two at each side. indicated by the numeral 29. These projections 28 and 29 have threaded bores 30,

while the member 6 and the polepieces 23 have.

aligned apertures 31 to enable the member 6 and polepieces 23 to. be secured in position. The polepieces 23 are made fast to the ends of the core ing back the screws 32, the member 6 and the polepieces 23 and the coil can be taken out and the polepieces 23 can be separated from the core 27 by removing the screws 32.

At the top of the magneto inside of the housing 1 is a supporting element 34 of insulation to which is secured the conductor 35 by means of a rivet 36. This element 34 has the shape indicated in Figs. 1, 6, 7 and 8 and it is made fast to the top of the housing 1 by studs or rivets 3'] which are embedded in said element and project from the top of same. One end of the conductor 35 makes contact with a terminal 38 of the high tension winding, mounted in the insulating tube 26 which covers the coil 3 and the The rotor 2comprises end plates 26on shaft '7,

minals 44 past which the terminal 42 revolves in succession. These terminals extend through the cover 5 and have hollow outer ends indicated at 45 in open bosses 46 on the exterior of the cover. All of the bosses 46 with the terminals 44 inside of them are mounted in the upper enlarged portion of the cover 5 indicated at 47.

The member 6 is provided with a. boss 48 which projects towards the cover 5 and forms a journal on which is mounted a circuit breaker plate 49, to which is afiixed a stud 50 on which is pivotally mounted a breaker lever 51. This breaker lever has a terminal at its outer end which engages and disengages with a terminal on an adjustable screw 52 mounted in a boss 53 aflixed to the plate 49. A spring 54 engages the lever 51 at one end and abuts a spring bracket 55 at the other. This bracket is L-shaped and has one arm thereof secured to the plate 49 but is separated therefrom by means of insulating plates 56 The breaker arm 51 is thus electrically connected to the spring bracket 55 and this bracket will be joined to one lead of the primary winding, the other end being grounded as usual These connections are not shown. The bracket 55 also has a perforated ear 57 to facilitate securing thereto a conductor 58 which leads to one terminal of a condenser 59 supported in an opening 60 of the member 6, the other terminal of the condenser being grounded.

The side of the housing 1. mounts a stud 61 which is received in a bearing 62 andcarries at its inner end inside of the housing a. crank 63. One end of this crank projects into a recess 61' indicated at 64 on the plate 49 and rigid with the outer end of the stud or short shaft 61 is a lever 65. The movement of this lever will cause rotating of the plate 49 on the boss 48 and thus retard or advance the time of sparking. A spring 66 surrounds a conical hub 67 on the plate 49, one end of this spring being rigid with the end of the boss 48 so as to press the plate 49 against the member 6. Of course the head of the breaker lever 51 is out of electrical contact with the stud 50, being separated therefrom by'a suitable insulating sleeve 68. a

In practice the rotating of the shaft 7 causes the magnets 22 to direct a magnetic flux through the polepieces 23- and core 27 to energize the primary and secondary windings of the coil 3. The circuit of the primary is completed through a conductor, not shown, leading to the spring bracket 55, the screw 52 to the grounded terminal of the primary, and when the cam 16 moves the lever 51 away fromthe screw 52, the primary circuit is broken. A strong secondary current is then generated and flows through the conductor 35, conductor 39, conductor 41 and the terminal 42 to the fixed terminals 44 and to the ignitersof the engine in turn. The timing of the spark can be effected simply by moving the lever 65.

The outer end of the spring bracket 55 canbe bent over as shown at 68' to prevent displacement of the end of the spring 54. The ,cover 5 is secured in place'by suitable screws and it is provided at each side-with curved projections 69 which fitinto suitably shaped recesses 70 in the front end of the housing at each side thereof.

The portion of the distributor is provided with an inside wall 71 and adjacent the inner end of this wall is a shoulder 72 to receive a perforated plate or partition '73. This plate 73 has a central which it carries, together with the terminals 40 and 44 are disposed in a virtually sealed compartment from which dust and other foreign objects are effectually excluded. This partition or plate 73 can be held in place by a split ring '74 which fits into a groove '15 adjacent the shoulder 72. Hence the plate 73 can be easily taken out when necessary. This construction enables the magneto to operate efficiently over long periods because no oil or dust can enter the compartmeniaenclosed by the section 4'1 of the cover 5 to foul the fixed and movable high tension terminals therein. The other parts of the magneto are efiectively sealed in the housing 1 and suitable packing, shown at '76, between the cover 5 and open end of the housing and at 77 surrounding the shaft 7 where it projects from the closed end 4, excludes from the magneto dust, moisture, and anything else that might interere with-the proper operation of the rotor, the coils, the timer, and the gearing which operates the distributor.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the end of the tubular shaft 13 is expanded to hold the washer 1'? within the'counter-bore of the gear 14, as at 13.

Preferably I secure to the plate 73 a sheet of packing material 78 with an opening to surround the rotor 11 snugly and offer no friction to its rotation.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a magneto having a construction necessary to enable me to realize the objects of this invention; and while I have described one embodiment of the magneto, the claims are to be interpreted as not restricted to the features actually shown and described herein, but as covering any changes which are fairly embraced within the meanings of the broad and general terms in which the claims are expressed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed 1. A magneto having a casing, a bracket inthe casing, polepieces between the bracket and one end of the casing and means engaging the bracket and the casing for holding the polepieces in place.

2. A magneto comprising a casing, a bracket in the casing carrying bearings for a rotor shaft and a distributor shaft, polepieces in the casing, and means engaging the bracket and one end of the casing for holding the polepieces in position.

3. A magneto comprising a casing, a bracket therein, the casing having a shoulder and a seat against which the bracket is disposed, polepieces between the bracket and one end of the casing and fastening devices passing through the bracket and the polepieces and engaging said casing to hold the bracket and polepieces in place.

4. A magneto comprising a casing, a bracket therein, polepieces-between the bracket and one end of the casing, fastening means engaging the bracket, the casing and the polepieces to hold the latter in position, the bracket having an opening to support a condenser in said casing.

5. A magneto comprising a casing, a bracket in the casing, said bracket having bearings, one above the'other, the upper bearing being adapted to support a rotor for the distributor of a magneto, the casing having a bearing at one end in line with the lower bearing in the bracket and a shaft in said last-named bearings having a rotor thereon, polepieces in the casing 'to cooperate with the last-named rotor and means passing through the bracket and polepieces to secure same to the casing.

'6. A magneto comprising a casing having one and closed and the other end open and an insulating cover for the open end of the casing and of the same height as the casing, said cover having an enlarged portion to provide a distributor for the magneto.

7. A magneto comprising a casing having an 0 open end, an insulating cover therefor having an enlarged portion with an interior wall projecting therefrom and a plate supported by said wall and surrounded thereby and forming therewith and with said enlarged portion a sealed compartment in the distributor. l

8. A magneto comprising a casing having an open end, an insulating cover therefor having an enlargedportion with an interior wall projecting therefrom and a plate supported by said wall and forming therewith and with said enlarged portion a sealed compartment in the distributor, said portion having terminals projecting into said compartment and said plate having a bearing opening for a rotor carrying a movable terminal in said compartment.

9. A magneto comprising a casing having a closed end, a generating coil in the casing adjacent said closed end, an insulating element supported in the casing adjacent the open end, an insulating cover for the open end having a distributor conductor embedded therein, and a ,conductor supported by said element to connect the distributor conductor to said generating coil.

. 10. A magneto comprising a casing having a closed end, a generating coil therein, the other end of the casing being open, an insulating element having embedded rivets secured within the casing at the top thereof, near said opening, a conductor secured to said element and connected 110 to said coil, and an insulating cover for the open end of the casing having a distributor conductor embedded therein connected to the first-named conductor.

11. A magneto comprising a casing having a closed end and an open end, an insulating cover for the open end of the casing, said cover having projections with curved faces at its opposite sides and the casing having corresponding recesses in the wall thereof adjacent the open end to re- 12o ceive said projections when the cover is put in place.

12. A magneto comprising a distributor having a rotor with a hollow shaft, a gear on said shaft having a counter-sunk recess, the shaft having a collar abutting said gear, a ring in said recess, and rivets to secure the ring, the gear and the shaft rigidly together.

13. A magneto comprising a distributor rotor having a stem projecting from one end, a tubular shaft encircling saidstem, said shaft having an exterior collar, a gear receiving one end of said shaft and abutting said collar, said shaft stem having a key-way therein, the gear being counter-sunk, a keyed washer in said countersunk gear engaging the key-way and rivets for holding the washer, the gear and the tubular shaft together.

14. A magneto comprising a casing with an open end, an insulating cover for said end, said cover having an enlarged portion carrying distributor terminals, said portion having an inside wall with an interior shoulder, a plate secured to said wall against said shoulder and forming with the wall and said portion a closed compartment, said plate having a central bearing opening, and a rotor mounted to turn in said opening and having a terminal thereon inside of said compartment.

15. A magneto comprising a casing having a 150 bracket therein between the ends thereof, a timer plate on said bracket, a fixed and movable contact on said, timer plate, and a movable spindle in the side wallof the casing connected to said 5 timer plate to adjust same on said shaft.

16. A magneto comprising a casing, a bracket in the casing between the ends thereof, said bracket having a boss forming a journal, a timer plate having a central hub mounted on said journal, a fixed and a movable contact on said timer plate, the magneto having a shaft with a cam thereon to actuate the movable contact, said timer plate having a recess, a spindle mounted in the side of the casing having a crank engaging said recess and an arm on the outer end of said spindle to turn the same and adjust said timer plate.

17. A magneto comprising a casing, a timer plate in the casing, a fixed and movable contact on the timer, and a movable spindle in the side wall of the casing having a crank on its inner end to engage the timer plate and adjust same.

18. Atmagneto having a casing, a bracket in the-casing between the ends thereof, a shaft having a bearing in said bracket, a circuit breaker mounted on the shaft and operated thereby, said circuit breaker being disposed between the bracket and one end of the casing,'and a cover for said circuit breaker engaging one end of the casing.

19. A magneto comprising a distributor rotor having a stem projecting from one end, a tubular shaft encircling said stem, said shaft having an exterior collar, a gear receiving one end of saidshaft and abutting said collar, the gear beingv 

